NEW! Discover Milk Chocolate with Peach and Mint (Sweets Without)

Last week I was invited to try a very unusual sounding chocolate bar by Sweets Without. I've been lucky enough to try some very interesting chocolate of late, but no low-sugar flavoured bars as yet. Peach & mint makes me think of sipping iced tea in the summer sunshine, but I'd never thought of it as a milk chocolate flavour. I was more than willing to give it a go though, so gladly accepted Sweets Without's kind offer to try Discover's chocolate bar.

But who are Discover? According to their website, they're a small team in Exmoor who produce handmade chocolate. They say: 

"Discover was launched with two goals, we needed to remove sugar from the ingredients and bring a range of flavours to the chocolate market which had not been done before. We achieved this using all-natural ingredients in the innovative and exciting varieties of healthy no added sugar, stevia sweetened, palm oil and Gluten free chocolate bars we have on offer. We also ensure that our chocolate is ethically sound and environmentally friendly."

I loved the wrapper to the 50g bar, and could smell the refreshing mint from beneath the brown paper. Uncovering it I was further impressed by the colour and glossy sheen to the chocolate. 

I then turned it over and discovered that the flat side was completely covered with peppermint leaves, giving it a grassy appearance. Embedded within the chocolate were a few dried peach slices too. I'd never seen a bar quite like it!

Biting into the chocolate I was met with a creaminess that I really hadn't expected. I thought that the Cavalier bar was good quality, but this was far better. The chocolate was every bit as sweet as its full-sugar compadres, however there was a big problem with the bar...

I just couldn't get over the gritty texture from the mint leaves, which although flavourful, completely counteracted the wonderful velveteen chocolate. It's a shame because the mint flavour was good and worked well as a combination with the chocolate. As for the peach slices, they offered very little to the bar apart from a slight chewiness and sweet edge. I couldn't really taste them against the chocolate and mint combination -such a pity.

I feel very glum to be writing such criticisms of what sounds like a wonderful company. I love their ethos, but for me this just doesn't quite work. Sweets Without are selling all sorts of their exciting sounding bars though so please do check out their website if you like the sound of no-added sugar fig & cashew/coffee & cardamom dark chocolate or rose petal & lavender milk chocolate. I think the cherry & walnut and cinnamon milk chocolate bars sound particularly special!

6/10

**Thank you to Sweets Without for the sample!**

Cavalier Stevia Hazelnut Milk Chocolate (Sweets Without)

Are you diabetic, simply trying to cut down your sugar intake, or following a low carb* diet? Still craving sweets and chocolate? Sweets Without might be your saving grace. Just take a look at their website and you'll discover a huge selection of sweet treats that'll help curb your cravings without the sugar content of traditional sweets and chocolate. Now if you follow me on Instagram you'll know that I eat a huge amount of sugar, and so when Sweets Without asked me if I'd like to regularly review their range I accepted, thinking that it would be interesting to compare their products to their sugar-laden counterparts. 

"Belgian milk chocolate with broken hazelnuts with sweeteners."

The first product I received was an 85g bar of Cavalier's no added sugar hazelnut milk chocolate. Stevia is used as the sweetener, which I'm sure you're aware is a natural sugar substitute extracted from the stevia plant grown in Bolivia and Paraguay. 

The 85g tablet was in a thin format, similar to Lindt's larger bars. It looked very similar to normal milk chocolate, save for the small chopped hazelnut pieces that studded it. 

In terms of cocoa content, Cavalier haven't substituted quality - the bar contains a minimum of 36% solids, as well as a minimum of 30% milk solids. 

The content is evident in the eating experience; the chocolate is silky with a pleasant melt-in-the-mouth texture, broken up by the small but crispy nut pieces. As for the sweetness, the bar was just as sweet as your usual chocolate, but did have a slightly different taste to its 'normal' sugary cousins. If you've been reading this blog since the beginning you might recall that I reviewed a similar bar by Chocologic. Cavalier's bar is far, far, superior. 

I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed with this Cavalier bar. Im not about to give up my beloved Côte D'Or, but it's a brilliant substitute for those who can't/don't want to eat sugary chocolate. 

8/10

Sweets without sells a range of Cavalier's Stevia products including a delicious sounding white chocolate, mango & raspberry bar, boxes of sea shell pralines and even varieties of 85% dark chocolate for those of you who are inclined towards the dark side! Prices start from just £2.69 for this bar, and delivery is free if you spend over £10! Check the range out here.

Thank you to Sweets Without for the sample!

*For those interested, carbs per 100g:
Cavalier's Milk Chocolate Hazelnut = 31.8g
compared to 
Cadbury's Whole Nut Dairy Milk  = 50g

Dr Zak's Chocolate Powdered Peanut Butter (CNSport)

I can't deny my love of chocolate and peanut butter. My 2016 New Years' resolution is still going strong and I'm still having my two favourite foodstuffs every single day without exception. It's needless to say therefore that when Conor at CNSport offered me a jar of Dr Zak's chocolate powdered peanut butter to review I jumped at the chance -especially because I'd enjoyed their Banoffee Pie and Chocolate Fudge Brownie peanut spreads so much!

"High protein & defatted chocolate flavour powdered peanut butter. All the taste of chocolate spread with 70% less fat."

Could peanut butter taste as good with none of the fat? I enjoy some fat-free products such as Skyr and Quark, but surely pb tastes so good because of its natural fat content?

I poured some of the powder into a ramekin and added equal measures of water -as suggested- before stirring to make a paste. I was about to spread it on my fruit loaf when I thought I'd give it a quick sample first.

Bleurgh! What the? Sweet bejeezus that's no relative of peanut butter.

All I could taste was a bitter chemical flavour* that I just had to spit out. 

*At this point I'll add that there's no chemicals: the tub simply contains peanut flour, cocoa and stevia -but boy it was vile. 

Am I doing this whole peanut powder thing wrong? At the moment I can't even bring myself to try it again, but if you've had it and can make it work please do send me your suggestions.

0/10

A huge thank you to Conor for the sample! Unfortunately I can't love everything you stock, sorry ;).